


DC Comics Ultimate Battle Tournament

by HordesoftheThings



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Who would win in a fight?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-30 09:27:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12650811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HordesoftheThings/pseuds/HordesoftheThings
Summary: This is what happens when you stay up too late watching Death Battle videos on Youtube.





	1. The Rules

Who would win in a fight? Possibly the most divisive question when it comes to superheroes. Often the answer isn’t as obvious as it first seems. Take Superman for example. One of the most overpowered characters in fiction, yet here’s a short list of people who could beat him: Batman, Flash, Booster Gold, Darkseid, Doomsday, Brainiac, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, any magic user, other Kryptonians and so forth. So, to settle this debate (or more likely cause even more debate) I present the Ultimate Injustice Battle Tournament.

 

The Rules:  
A tournament-style series of 1v1 matches. In total, 128 of the DC Universe’s best (for a given value of ‘best’) will end up going head to head. The winners will be determined using an arbitrary set of criteria (mostly gut instinct) and will progress to the next round. In some cases where the winner is obvious, there will be almost no analysis done at all. The order of fighters has been randomised.

This tournament will include the post-infinite crisis versions of each character. If there is a significant difference between the pre and post new 52 character, preference will be given to the pre-52 version.

Since they all exist in the same universe, any knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses will be allowed. That is, Batman will know about Superman’s vulnerability to Kryptonite. Of course, if the characters don’t know about each other (for example, Two-Face is unlikely to know about Darkseid), this will also be the case.

All fights will take place in a neutral location, with no summoning backup from outside (e.g. Brainiac calling in his ship to annihilate the battlefield).

No God-level opponents. Darkseid, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Neron and Nekron are all excluded. Also Gentleman Ghost and Deadman are out due to being ghosts, so only magic or nth metal users can harm them.

 

Many of these decisions will be questionable. Several will be controversial. Some will certainly be wrong. But then, that’s the fun of it.


	2. Wonder Woman VS Catwoman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!

A nice simple one to start us off. A master thief against the daughter of Zeus. You may be good at breaking and entering, but that becomes irrelevant when fighting someone who is blessed by the Olympians.

The winner: Wonder Woman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was easy. Who's next?


	3. Firestorm VS Sandman

The Sandman in question is Sandy Hawkins from the JSA. He possesses precognitive nightmares, geokinesis and can transform into a silica form, rather like the Sandman from Marvel Comics (isn’t there a lot of Sandmen?) Sandman doesn’t need air to survive, so Firestorm can’t take advantage of that with his transmutation abilities. However, Sandman’s silica form can be affected by transmutation, leaving him very vulnerable to Firestorm.

The winner: Firestorm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fierstorm is pretty overpowered. He could do well.


	4. Huntress VS Shade

If you are not familiar with Shade, you may recognise him as the darkness-controlling villain from the Justice League animated series. His powers stem from the Shadow Dimension, which he can manipulate into shields and constructs. Also, he is immortal, and has survived bombs being dropped on him and having his heart torn out during the Blackest Night. Given that Huntress generally fights using her crossbow at range, or battle staff up close, she is unlikely to be able to keep Shade down for long.

The winner: Shade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Immortality probably comes under God-tier. Oh well.


	5. John Constantine VS Nightwing

Sorry Nightwing, but magic beats acrobatics.

The Winner: John Constantine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not biased, I promise. The fact that Constantine is one of my favourite characters is irrelevant.


	6. Black Manta VS Zatanna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, a match which I spent more than a couple of minutes on!

This is a very interesting match-up. Zatanna’s powers are almost unlimited, ranging from telekinesis to teleportation. In theory she only needs one good spell (‘Edolpxe Tius’, for example) to take out Manta. But that’s boring, so let’s consider her opposition.  
  
Black Manta can easily take on Aquaman thanks to his suit; as we shall see later this is a remarkable achievement. It hugely enhances his strength and durability, as well as being completely impenetrable by weapons. He is skilled with all sorts of weaponry and his tactical mind rivals that of people like Batman. In a simple no-magic fight, he would easily win.  
  
Zatanna’s magic has one simple weakness. She has to speak a spell (backwards) to cast it. Several villains such as Joker and Deathstroke (and an Elseworlds Batman) have taken advantage of this, using well placed attacks or gas to prevent her from speaking, thus rendering her magic useless. Black Manta could easily do the same.

The Winner: Black Manta


	7. Joker VS Cyborg

First of all, as explained in the rules above, this fight will use the pre-52 Cyborg. The difference between the two lies in the origin of his cybernetic enhancements. Pre-52 Cyborg was enhanced by technology from STAR Labs to save his life. The same is true of new 52 Cyborg, but this time around he also fused with technology from Apokolips, including a Boom Tube for teleportation and the ability to assimilate other technology and automatically reform parts of his body to provide whatever he needs. 

This makes him considerably more powerful than his pre-52 counterpart. Not that pre-52 Cyborg is a pushover. His enhancements provide superhuman strength, speed, stamina and durability. His primary weapon is a white noise cannon, and he also frequently uses electric shockers and grappling hooks.  
Joker is often underestimated as a fighter. However his insanity makes him particularly dangerous, as tactical fighters like Batman cannot predict his moves. His famous arsenal of weaponry includes the acid flower, joy buzzer and laughing gas. Crucially for this tournament, his insanity gives him an abnormally high pain tolerance. He’s been electrocuted, shot and stabbed on multiple occasions, and just kept on going. He’s no harder to kill than anyone else, he just stays upright for longer.

Cyborg’s genius IQ and computer systems give him the tactical advantage over Joker, but as we’ve seen, this won’t necessarily help him. Cyborg’s sonic cannon and electric shocks are the sort of thing the Joker has taken before without slowing down. Joker’s unpredictable weaponry also gives him an edge. Cyborg’s armour is impressive, but a dousing in acid or shock from Joker’s hand buzzer (capable of reducing someone to a skeleton in seconds) is bound to mess up some of his circuits.

The Winner: The Joker


	8. Aquaman VS Doctor Polaris

The World’s Greatest Master of Magnetism, wearer of a very impressive helmet. Not that one. Doctor Polaris possesses basically the same powers as his more famous Marvel counterpart. Manipulation of iron, creating force-fields and levitation. He can even fly at 500 mph. Interestingly, he can also manipulate electricity, since this is related to magnetism. However heat will reduce the effectiveness of his powers or shut them off completely.

This information is simply provided for context as Aquaman is absurdly powerful. Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability and reflexes, demonstrated by, among other things, tanking laser blasts from Black Manta and outfighting Deathstroke. While in the water, his power is on a par with Superman. Even on land he is a formidable opponent. His main weapon, the Trident of Poseidon, can command the sea, control the weather and is strong enough to pierce armour forged on Apokolips.

Of course, there is also the fact that he ‘talks to fish’. Or more accurately, he telepathically communicates with all marine life, regardless of their location relative to him. The only reason he doesn’t force them to do his bidding is due to mutual respect. Underestimate this ability at your peril – during the ‘Sub Diego’ storyline, Aquaman was fighting an opponent underwater and took control of all the plankton in the water that his opponent has breathed in, tearing him apart from the inside. He can also use his telepathy to communicate with non-aquatic life, able to defend against telepathic attack by Martian Manhunter.

At one point, Aquaman actually beat Doctor Polaris using his telepathy. Even though the fight would take place away from water (neutral ground), Aquaman has repeatedly shown he doesn’t need water to take down his opponents.

The Winner: Aquaman


	9. Bane VS The Mad Hatter

Bane is most well known as the man who broke Batman. His power comes from the super-steroid called venom, which boosts his strength, stamina and durability. Even without venom, he is on par with Olympic athletes, stronger and with faster reactions than Batman. With venom, he can bend steel, withstand gunfire and heal from injuries. As long as he has enough venom, he can keep going almost indefinitely, although healing severe injuries requires a dangerous dosage of venom. If he overdoses, he becomes a mindless brute rather like Hulk – huge strength, almost no intellect or reasoning.

Speaking of intellect, Bane is one of the most intelligent of Batman’s foes. He self-taught himself a dozen languages, as well as sciences, history, geography and medicine to at least degree level. Which begs the question: how come Pena Duro’s library was that good? He is also an expert in military strategy and martial arts, and possesses a photographic memory.

Compared to that, Mad Hatter seems rather pathetic. Under 5 feet tall and convinced he is a character in Alice in Wonderland, he certainly doesn’t look like he could stand up to Bane. However he is a genius in neuroscience, who developed mind-control technology built into his hat collection. This technology can affect metahumans and even the incredibly disciplined Batman.

Both characters know of each other’s abilities – for a time they were teammates in the Secret Six.   
However only Bane has the logical mind to take advantage of this. In theory Hatter could take advantage of Bane’s venom by forcing him to overdose, leaving his mind open to attack, but he lacks the strategy to do this. Bane would be well aware of Hatter’s mind control powers and would know to take him down quickly to prevent him taking the advantage. And what it boils down to is the fact that Bane is much, much more physically fit than Hatter.

The Winner: Bane


End file.
